Saturday November 3 2018

A family in Ugweri in Embu's Runyenjes constituency is in agony after they were denied permission to bury their kin for lack of Sh7,000 for post-mortem.

The family of Esther Reuben, 72, who was killed two weeks ago, had intended to bury her on Wednesday but were barred from collecting the body since a post-mortem had not been carried out.

Ms Reuben went missing on Thursday on her way home from the market and her body was found last weekend.

According to her son Patrick Njagi, they had raised some Sh4,000 which they thought was enough for the post-mortem.

He said they were forced to suspend the burial exercise since they could not afford the charges.

The elderly woman has been living as a squatter on a road reserve and the family plans to bury her in a public cemetery.

Mr Nyaga said they were in agony since the mortuary bills were increasing daily yet they were trying to raise the money for the autopsy.

“The pastor was ready to bury the body but we informed him of our predicament. We thought Sh4,000 which we had fundraised would be enough but we were told the amount was not enough. They body is attracting Sh300 daily and yet we are struggling,” he said.

Mr Nyaga appealed to the government to waive the fees so that they can bury their kin.

“We are poor and sometimes we sleep hungry. We have been visiting the police station but they have been taking us in circles, saying that the post mortem would be carried out but we were told we have to pay for the exercise,” said Mr Nyaga.